NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX) today announced the promotion of Sheila DiPalma to Senior Vice President of Corporate Employee Services. In addition, Cognex’s Board of Directors named Ms. DiPalma an Officer of the Corporation. Ms. DiPalma will report to Cognex President and CEO Rob Willett.

Ms. DiPalma started with Cognex in 1992 as Senior Corporate Accountant, and served in a variety of management roles in the company’s finance and tax departments before being promoted to Treasurer in 2011. In 2015, her role was expanded to include management of Corporate Employee Services. As Senior Vice President of Corporate Employee Services, Ms. DiPalma will now focus entirely on overseeing the global teams responsible for recruiting and hiring new talent, managing employee retention, compensation and benefits, and implementing corporate culture and communications programs at Cognex. John Curran, Cognex’s Senior Vice President and CFO, will take over Ms. DiPalma’s responsibilities in the Treasury Department to enable Ms. DiPalma to focus full time on her new role.

“Sheila is a fantastic Cognoid who embodies the best of Cognex culture,” said Robert J. Willett, President and CEO of Cognex. “Her enthusiasm, leadership skills, and long history with Cognex will be important assets as we continue to develop our culture and build our global team.”

“Sheila’s appointment as a Corporate Officer demonstrates the Board’s strong belief that our unique culture is an important strategic element of Cognex’s success,” said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, Cognex’s Chairman and Chief Culture Officer. “While other companies refer to this role as Human Resources, Cognex prefers to call it Employee Services, because its primary function is to support and develop the talented Cognoids who invest their time and creativity at Cognex. I look forward to working with Sheila to continue building a unique and rewarding workplace at Cognex.”

About Cognex Corporation

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of image-based products, all of which use artificial intelligence (AI) techniques that give them the human-like ability to make decisions on what they see. Cognex products include machine vision systems, machine vision sensors and barcode readers that are used in factories and distribution centers around the world where they eliminate production and shipping errors.

Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 1.5 million vision-based products, representing over $5 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA, Cognex has offices and distributors located throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For details visit Cognex online at www.cognex.com.